1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dummy terminal system and a dummy terminal included therein in which a plurality of host computers are connected.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a method for communicating with a terminal, employed in a personal computer or the like, is a host control type. The host-control communication method is such that the setting of the communication between the host computer and the terminal is performed by the host computer so that the host computer and the terminal communicate with each other in accordance with the setting. The communication between the host computer and the terminal is controlled by a type of software called an operating system by means of, e.g., a universal serial bus as a bus system under control of the host computer.
The "terminal" means a device which is controlled in the host-control communication method by the host computer, such as a hard disc drive, a floppy disc drive, a keyboard, a printer or a scanner.
Since the host computer controls its bus system in the host control type, additional host computers cannot be connected to the bus system so that communication among a plurality of host computers is performed. Accordingly, regardless of whether the operating systems and communication methods of the host computers are identical or different, the host-control communication method has a problem in which communication among the plurality of host computers via one bus system cannot be performed.
In addition, the impossibility in mutually connecting the host computers causes a problem in which one terminal connected to the corresponding host computer cannot be used by one host computer not corresponding thereto.